Cataract Surgery

[Champy]

Champy Since your down to one eye, were you able to see after the procedure? Or were you covered?

-Mike Z.

I had about a day of recovery with a patch at home. I actually could see immediately after the surgery, but they wanted the eye covered to protect it for a day.

As a followup to my previous comments about doctors. I do not believe ANY doctor can predict how long you have left before a cataract will cover your eye totally - after a single visit or exam - unless you're already mostly blind. My surgeon is excellent and had been monitoring my eyes for years before finally putting me on the table.

Anyone who is considering this surgery only to avoid wearing glasses is taking an unnecessary risk which I would avoid until absolutely needed. These are sensitive and critical organs, and you cannot grow another pair if they get messed up - believe me because I've been trying to for almost 50 years!

 

[srossman]

I was interested in having LASIK done in order to eliminate my need for glasses and contacts. Last week, I met with the LASIK coordinator as well as the eye surgeon. I am farsighted and have astigmatism, which I knew. However, because of the degree of farsightedness, particularly in my left eye, I am not a good candidate for LASIK. The doctor said I was borderline and he would not do the surgery.

When he was doing the brief exam, he noticed the early beginnings of cataracts. Nothing major and nothing to worry about...now. But, he said I'd be a good candidate (because of my age) for lens replacement, which would accomplish the same thing as LASIK. Many replacement lenses are good for reading as well as intermediate and distance vision (kind of like a bi-focal contact lens), so no need for reading glasses. They mentioned this kind of lens might make more sense since I'm at the end of the age range where reading glasses are needed. Starting in your early 40s, your eyes lose the ability to focus for reading. This deterioration continues until the early 50s then stabilizes. Then cataracts start to appear.

They recommended getting it done now, when I'm young (relatively speaking) instead of waiting for them to get worse in 10 - 15 years. So, I'm scheduled for a full exam at the end of June and they said they might replace the lens in the non-dominant eye that day, and do the other one about 1 week later.

Any TBNers have cataract surgery? If so, how'd it go? What type of lens did they install?

My doctor uses crystalens, ReZoom and ReStore lenses. Since I have not had my full exam, my doctor has not made a recommendation, but I've been reading up on all the options and thought I'd check with all of you for your experiences. I did a search and there were a few old threads, so I thought I'd check for more recent experiences.

Ok, so I'm going to drag an old thread back to the front, but I thought it was better than posting a new one on the same topic.
Mike, Have you gone any further along in this process? I'm in the same boat. I'm only 33 and in the last 2 years my cataracts have covered over half my left eye. Things have started to get noticeably worse as my left eye is the dominant eye and my right eye was always 20/40 with uncorrectable vision. The doctor recommended Crystalens for me as he feels the other lens types would produce the halo's and glares. Does anybody have any experience with these lens?

 

[Diesel-ME]

This is what I am struggling with. Do it now before there's a big issue and I'm relatively young (and employed with health insurance) or wait until there's a problem and I'm older with Medicare.

BINGO - unless you have a job with a fancy-schmancy employment contract that guarantees employment and health insurance, I'd get it all done now! Long gone are the days of lifetime employment and associated benefits. Don't assume anything about future Medicare and SS benefits.

~Paul

 

[riptides]

BINGO - unless you have a job with a fancy-schmancy employment contract that guarantees employment and health insurance, I'd get it all done now! Long gone are the days of lifetime employment and associated benefits. Don't assume anything about future Medicare and SS benefits.

~Paul

But, every person has different risks. And this is surgery.

-Mike Z.

 

[ultrarunner]

But, every person has different risks. And this is surgery.

-Mike Z.

You are absolutely correct.

 

[MikePA]

Mike, Have you gone any further along in this process? I'm in the same boat.

No, I didn't go any further. I called the doctor back and asked more questions. Even though he said I had the 'beginnings of cataracts', it was not a diagnosis of cataracts. So, I would have to pay the full cost of the procedure and lenses.

If I were in your situation, I'd have the surgery.

 

[riptides]

No, I didn't go any further. I called the doctor back and asked more questions. Even though he said I had the 'beginnings of cataracts', it was not a diagnosis of cataracts. So, I would have to pay the full cost of the procedure and lenses.

If I were in your situation, I'd have the surgery.

Wow, that is good news.

In my situation, numerous specialist have recommended waiting until either I cannot stand the visual impact, or pose a safety hazzard to others and myself.

But, I am on a six month schedule, or less, for monitoring.

Are you visiting a cataract specialist? Or an opthomologist?

-Mike Z.

 

[MikePA]

Are you visiting a cataract specialist? Or an opthomologist?

No, just the usual annual eye exam with an optometrist.

 

[Champy]

No, just the usual annual eye exam with an optometrist.

No offense intended to any optometrists, but getting cataract surgery / and diagnosis from him is like getting diesel service on your Kubota from Autozone. You really need to go to a specialist who is capable of performing the surgery, and get a baseline mapping of the degree of cataracts you currently have.

 

[MikePA]

No offense intended to any optometrists, but getting cataract surgery / and diagnosis from him is like getting diesel service on your Kubota from Autozone. You really need to go to a specialist who is capable of performing the surgery, and get a baseline mapping of the degree of cataracts you currently have.

You have incorrectly read what I wrote.

I did not say I was getting cataract surgery from an optometrist. (They are not licensed to perfrom surgery.) Nor did I say an optometrist was doing the diagnosis. Optometrists are trained to notice cataracts and then, when necessary, refer you to an ophthalmologist for follow up.